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lOK. JAMBS S'. ROimS, 



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The Sliermaii. ZBanqnet in St; ZLoiiiS) 



on the 20th of J"iily> 1865. 



FEINTED BY WM. F. SWITZLEE, ~ 

STATESMAN OFFICE, COLUMBIA, MISSOURI, 
18C5. 



■I T 



rn 



THE S P E E C ti . 



The second regular Toast — "T/te Armi/ and Navy of the United States,'^ 
was responded to by Mr. Rollins as follows : 

Mr. Chairman : — It was but a few moments since that my 
friend Col. Broadhead informed me that I would be called upon 
to respond to the sentiment which has just been read. I regret, 
sir, that this pleasing duty had not devolved upon some one of 
the distinguished military gentlemen who have honored this occa- 
sion with their presence. But, sir, as the duty is imposed upon 
me, I rise to make a very few remarks. 

The dissolution of the American Union, the downfall of the 
great Republic, if such a thing had been possible, and had 
occurred, would have been the most distressing catastrophe and 
the severest blow to the cause of free institutions, that had ever 
occurred in the history of our race. For the preservation of our 
Government and this blessed Union, we are mainly indebted to 
the heroic achievements of the Army and Navy of the United 
States. (Applause. ) The fame of that Army and that Navy 
has been established by the earnest, unselfish and devoted patri- 
otism of our soldiers and our sailors, and they have added 
imperishable glory to both these arms of the public service. 
(Loud applause.) 

It is a pleasing reflection to every cultivated and sensitive 
heart, that during this terrible rebellion — this great eS"ort to 
preserve the nation's life — this unprecedented conflict of arms, 
millions of men engaged upon either side in the conflict, that 
throughout the struggle, not one single solitary act of insubordi- 
nation has occurred, or effort been made, on the part of the high 
military and naval men yfho Lave conducted successfully this 



great revolution with any other view than to promote the glory, 
the success, and the safety of our free country. With the Army 
and the Navy, all unworthy ambition, all objects personal and 
selfish, have given way to a pure and elevated love of country ; 
these are the motives which have guided our Generals and our 
Soldiers — and to their unselfish aims are we largely indebted for 
the triumphant success which crowned their efforts, and which 
causes the heart of the nation to swell with gratitude to our brave 
defenders, (Great applause.) 

Mr. Chairman, the war is over. (Applause.) It was, sir, a 
necessary war. It was a war that could not be avoided. In the 
whole history of our race, no man can point to a single solitary 
case where a Government was attempted to be overthrown, and 
its territory mutilated, without an effort on the part of that 
Government to maintain itself. (Loud applause.) Nations 
fight upon a single point of national honor. Nations often 
declare war in order to uphold the rights of a solitary citizen. 
Nations quarrel and sometimes fight to maintain the integrity of 
their territorial dominion, though barely worth possessing. A 
few years ago we wore almost involved in a war with Great Brit- 
ain, in reference to a small strip of territory on the north-eastern 
part of our empire, not larger than a few counties. At another 
time we hear of the war cry, '•'■Fifty-four forty or Fight ! " 
And all remember our cor^ plications with the same power in 
regard to a small island on our northwestern coast, the title to 
which was more than doubtful, and which was hardly worth own- 
ing at best. "With instances like these before us, liow could any 
man of sense reason for a moment, that a great Government like 
ours would permit itself to be cut in twain, despoiled of the 
fairest and richp?t portion of our beautiful heritage, planting 
upon our border r> hostile and powerful people,. sweeping from 
ua our commerce, and owning the splendid harbors stretching 
along our coast for three thousand miles, from the Chesepeake to 
the Rio Grande, including the mouth of the Mississippi and the 
Gulf of Mexico, without a struggle more persistent and terrible 
than any hitherto witnessed among men since the "morning stars 
Bang sweetly together?" No, sir, however reluctant the nation 
felt, we were compelled to fight, or to have stood a dishonored 
and disgraced people ; and if from any cause the people had 
shrunk from the contest, I believe that the gallant Army and 
Navy would have struck the blow and saved us from the national 



bumiiiallon aiul uisgracc. Eut, sir, the people v.crc like; ihf* 
Army and the Navy — they lovecl their country, and nov.horc in 
human history have any people been so lavish of their wealth, 
their cflbrts and their blood, to uphold the right, to maintain our 
territorial integrity and the national honor. (Applause.) 

And now, sir, that the war is over, and the white-wingi-d mes- 
senger of peace has again spread his wings across the continent, 
it is a reflection, no less pleasing than honorable, that the men 
i^ho have been actively engaged iu the war, are the must earnest 
advocates of peace, and orily those would continue the strife 
who have never fired a musket or seen a fort I (Loud ap- 
plause.) 

The distinguished citizen and soldier whom we all delight to 
honor on this occasion, has added fresher laurels to his brow, 
because from the time he accepted a Colonelcy in the Regular 
Army, until the firing of the last gun, he has been the most 
consistent, earnest, generous and gracious advocate of peace. 
( Applause.) He followed war because he was in truth the child 
of the Republic, because he owed it to his country to sacrifice 
his life, if need be, in his efforts to save it. He struck no un- 
necessary or vengeful blow whilst he wielded his sword, and 
when the enemy succumbed, yielded to his superior prowess, he 
at once set an example of moderation, of liberality, and of jus- 
tice in dealing with a fallen foe, best calculated to ensure an 
immediate and lasting peace, and worthy the imitation of the 
most enlightened christian philanthropists and statesmen. (Ap- 
plause. ) 

Mr. Chairman, I know that I am likely to worry this audience. 
(Cries of "go on ! go on ! ") Jt would be in bad taste on ray 
part to continue these desultory remarks, when I know that you 
are all like myself, impatient to hear from Gen. Sherman himself. 
But, sir, in doing honor to the great and distinguished men who 
have made the American name still more illustrious amongst men, 
let us not forget on this festive occasion the rank and file of the 
American army — the common soldiers — God bless them I (Ap- 
plause.) Without them Ave would have had no Sherman and no 
.Grant. But sustained by them, the military genius of tho 
country has been developed, and our military annals enriched, 
with names that will never die. As long as free government has 
a votary upon this continent, and liberty is prized amongst men, 
besides the great captains Ayhose names I have .iuf<*- tnentionod. 



6 

ihc recollection of the great services of Thomas aiul Sheridan, 
of McClellan and Meade, of Hancock and Hooker, of Pope and 
Schofield, of Dodge and McPherson, of Blair and Lyon, of 
Terry and Logan, and a host of other bravo officers, -Rill remain 
over green and fresh in the mencory of the American people. In 
honoring our illustrious guest to-night, ^vc honor at the same 
time every officer who has performed well his part in the great 
struggle, and every soldier who has worn honorably the uniform 
of the American army. "We honor the glorious Listitution where 
many of these distinguished officers were so well taught, and we 
claim that Avhatever recreancy to country may have been shown 
by some of the graduates of that Institution, the brilliant con- 
iluct and heroic achicfi'cments of those who remained true to 
"the Flag"' must ever henceforth make "West Point a favorite 
Institution with the American people. (Applause.) But we 
honor to-night in a special manner every bronzed man of war, 
who followed our distinguished friend from Pittsburg Landing to 
'Vicksburg, from Vicksburg to Chattanooga, from Chattanooga 
to Atlanta, from Atlanta to the sea, from Savannah to Charles- 
ton, and from Charleston to "Washington. luchmond, for a time, 
was in fact the rebellion. It rested upon the four props — of 
Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston and "Wilmington. And without 
intending any invidious comparison betwixt our honored guest 
and others who have performed their part so nobly, it is proper 
to say that it was in that grand and unprecedented march, a 
march unequalled in the history of warfare amongst men through- 
out the world, that these props were displaced, and the infamous 
rebellion fell, crushed to atoms beneath the weight of wickedness 
and folly which had inaugurated and sustained it for four long 
years. (Great applause.) All honor I again say, to the rank 
and file of Sherman's army. 

"The poor, brave soldier ne'er despise, 
Kor treat him as a stranger, 
Eemember he's his country's stay 
» ]a the day and hour of danger." 

Nor will we forget on this or on any similar occasion, the great 
exploits of the American Navy. The Army and the Navy in 
honor, in fame, in imperishable deeds, must forever be indisso- 
lubly linked. You cannot honor the one without at the same 
lime awarding praise to the other. They are our twin defenders. 
They ajre the offspring of a common parent ; they sprang out of 



the great and patriotic heart of the American people. In this 
rebellion, ^\'hat the Army failed to accomplish, the Kavy did I and 
what the Navy did not do, the Army accomplisbcd. The Navy 
■went -where the Army could cot go, and to do it entire justice, 
it went almost wherever the Jirmy did go! (Applause.) 
It defied the enemy on the seas, and the music of its artillery 
drove away the danger along the shores of our great rivers. (Ap- 
plause. ) The^common soldier and the common^sailor.vied with 
each other in storming fortresses thought to be impregnable, and 
they often perished side by side in upholding the sacred and 
beautiful banner of the Ftepublic. We will not forget to shed a 
tear of sorrow over the bier of the immortal Foote, who for 
awhile in the early part of the rebellion was a cittzen of St. 
Louis, and by the side of the illustrious names whom I have already 
mentioned, will stand forever the names of Farragut, of Porter, 
of Dahlgren, of Dupont, of Worden, and of Winslow, throwing 
a still brighter halo over each undying page of American history. 
We will never forget how they have sustained the fame and the 
power of the American name. Since these great achievements 
we have a right to dispute the "trident"' with that powerful 
nation hitherto regarded as the mistrces of the seas ;" and in the 
future it will be for us to appropriate the beautiful couplet of 
their own immortal bard — 

"Columbia needs no bulwark, 

No towers along the steep, 
Her march is o'er the mouutaia wave, 

Her home is on the deep." (Great Applause.) 

Mr. Rollins offered the following sentimebt, which was cordially 
responded to : 

"The Supremacy of the Civil Law: The surest guarantee of tbo 
Liberty and the Safety of the Citizen.'' 



^I& 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



007 586 968 A # 



H<41iiiger 

pH 8J 

MiU Run F03.2193 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



007 586 968 A # 



HcJlinger 

pH 8J 

MiU Ran F03.2193 



